| Flexible and transparent electronics have many potential applications in military, imaging, sensors, alternative energy and consumer goods. However, most existing fabrication techniques which rely on harsh process conditions are not suitable because the plastic substrate and many sensing materials can not withstand such high temperature and high-energy plasma. In this dissertation, a low-temperature process is developed to fabricate transparent electronics on the flexible substrates. This technique is a combination of conventional lithography and novel nanotechnology. Clear and functional multilayers are constructed with transparent nanocrystals or polyelectrolytes via layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly and the patterns are formed only by lift-off which circumvents the temperature limit. Based on this process, some components of flexible electronics, such as transparent transistors, bend and humidity sensors, have been successfully fabricated on the plastic substrates and good electrical characteristics are obtained. The main work is focus on the structure design, material synthesis, modified LBL technique and characterization of devices which are investigated to achieve optimal sensitivity, quick response and durability. The efforts lead to a practical fabrication process for flexible and transparent devices, and lay a firm foundation to the future work aiming at fabricating complex electronic systems. |
